Santa Inoue, a genius manga artist living in L.A., talks about his non-negotiable borderline.

L.A.-based manga genius Santa Inoue talks about the borderline of non-negotiability.

Santa Inoue is a brilliant manga artist whose works include "TOKYO TRIBE 2" and "Neighbor No. 13". Known as the "King of Street Comics," his works are strongly influenced by hip-hop and street culture. At the same time, the "madness" glimpsed in the depths of his stories and characters is captivating. On November 30 (Mon.), Sanda simultaneously released "Sanda Inoue Art Collection SARU," an art book commemorating his 30th anniversary as a manga artist, and "Sanda's LA Life," a column manga about his life in LA after moving to the area. In this special interview, he talks about his past 30 years as a manga artist and the next 30 years to come, while introducing some of the impressive "masterpieces" from the book.

Text_Akihiro Tajima

Edit_Shinri Kobayashi

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What is important to you when creating a work of art?

Sanda: What is most important is to get my groove on. If it is an advertisement, I first ask what they want me to do, and if they say, "Please draw a picture that makes this product look good," I will drop the best art I can with full of vibes for it, and then you can enjoy the rest until it is completed, if possible. I would like to drop the best art I can do, and then let the audience enjoy it until it is finished, regardless of the amount of money involved. At worst, I am too much of an artist, or I am too selfish.

As a writer, you don't want to cross that line.

From "TOKYO GRAFFITI" ("SANTA INOUE GASHU SARU").

Sanda: Of course, I am a commercial writer, but can I say that? I am also troubled by the feeling that I am a commercial artist and I am not allowed to say such a thing. When I serialized "TOKYO GRAFFITI" in Shueisha's "Young Jump" magazine, the theme was graffiti, which is an illigal thing, so many problems came up and I ended up not being able to continue. There were young people on the streets who were into graffiti, which was an element of hip-hop and had not yet been illuminated at the time, and it would have been great if we could have properly conveyed the ins and outs and feelings of these young people in a major magazine.
In any case, what's important is how you can raise your vibes and how you can avoid doing things you don't like.

Q. Do you have any new works you are planning to release in the near future?

From his latest manga work "The Disastrous House" ("Santa Inoue Art Collection SARU")

Sanda: In 2021, a manga titled "Zange" will be published in "Bessatsu Young Champion". It will be a re-drawing of a character from "Neighbor No. 13," a manga I drew a long time ago, and I think it will be the most terrifying manga I have ever drawn. In that sense, it is my own "next level," and I am extremely enthusiastic about making it different from anything I have ever done before. I think I can make this into something that overlaps the two circles of what I want to do and what the public is interested in.